Samsung announced at MWC Los Angeles 2019 its new 5G New Radio (NR) Access Unit (AU) supporting 28GHz spectrum.
This new AU brings together a radio, antenna and digital unit into one compact box, making it the industry’s first integrated radio for mmWave spectrum, compliant to the 3GPP NR standard.
Earlier this year, Samsung Networks successfully deployed its first-generation 5G NR radio base stations in the U.S. with separated radio and digital units (RU-DU separated radio). By integrating these RU-DU technologies with 1,024 antenna elements for mmWave spectrum into one compact box, the new AU can be more easily installed on streetlight poles and building walls, providing operators a faster, simplified way to build out 5G networks.
The AU is able to deliver an industry-leading capacity of 10Gbps throughput, enabling operators to deliver higher 5G NR speeds to more users. Additionally, improved cost-efficiency is achieved by eliminating the need for ‘fronthaul’ fiber connections, thanks to the AU’s integration of the digital unit. Samsung is currently shipping the new AU to a leading U.S. Tier One mobile network operator.
Additional innovations to Samsung’s new AU are made possible by Samsung’s in-house 5G RF chipset, announced earlier this year and the company’s first and newly announced 5G NR system-on-a-chip (SoC) modem (S9100). This chipset enables an approximate 25 percent reduction in size, weight and power consumption, when compared to the same solution without an embedded 5G RF chipset. The AU’s new 5G NR modem substantially increases power efficiency.
Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, EVP and Head of Networks Business, Samsung Electronics
Cultivating mmWave spectrum provides infinite opportunities by unlocking 5G’s full potential. We’re excited to advance the industry by offering a new vision and diverse options to our customers around the world.
